Return to Me
by MicahsCornChickLP
Summary: Hey Everyone, Same story, but i updated the chapter, and i think i'll have chapter 2 up by X-mas! Thanks to all who have waited patiently!
1. Chapter 1

**Behold, a dream did come to me in the night, and that's where I got the idea for this fic. It may take me a while to figure everything out, because I only had part of the dream, and I'm going to have to go on fumes 'till I get everything worked out and 100% sure. Anyway, only two of the characters as of now belong to me, and I don't even know their names, because they were never said. So forgive me if the names are a little generalized, if I can, I'll pick good ones. Micah, the children, and Hemmingford, and the city of Detroit don't belong to me, only the events do. Thanks a ton, happy reading**  
  
Return to Me, Chapter 1  
  
The boy stood in the middle of the clearing, holding his knife close to his body. "The blood of those that defile the corn MUST FLOW INTO THE EARTH! Kneel!" He rose the knife, but not before locking eyes, even for only a second with the girl hidden in the shadows of the clearing. The girl's name was Brooke, and she had just come to live with her cousin, Audra, a 19 year-old medical student who is staying in Hemmingford while she goes to collage.  
  
While walking through the town a few days before, she was captivated by the boy's presence, and wanted to get to know him better. She didn't know who he was, or why she picked this night, but she followed him and the other children into the clearing, making sure they didn't see her, but all the while hoped to get closer to the boy.  
  
Peering through the stalks, Brooke saw a weird light envelop the boy. Gasping she was ready to run away, but wanted to see what would happen. The big tractor started up, and there was now a look of fear on the boy's pale face. He began to scream, and tripped as his long robe was caught on the blades. From her point of view, Brooke could see that there was about 3 feet of space under the harvester before the boy would be chopped to bits.  
  
Making a decision, she pushed her way through the corn, so that's she was right next to the harvester. No one saw her, but she could make out the distinct outline of the boy's legs inching their way farther and farther under the front and closer to the blades. Lying on her stomach, she realized that she was on her own and no one else was there to help her, she knew she only had one shot.  
  
Putting all of her effort into the pull, she tugged as hard as she could as he slipped farther under the blades. Grunting, Brooke managed to pull him from under the machine, and as the boy slipped into her lap, she breathed a sigh of relief. The pair lay there for a few seconds, and the boy, smelling the gasoline, suggested that they move away from the clearing before they got blown up. Nodding, she helped him to his feet, and the two made their way back to town as quickly as they dared, hoping that no one saw them.  
  
About fifty yards away from the harvester, they heard an amazingly loud noise, and both turned around in time to see it go up in a huge ball of flames. Walking more quickly now, they reached the edge of the field. The boy sat down, and Brooke followed suit. Catching their breath, Brooke was surprised to hear that the boy's voice was quiet, and very calm, unlike it was a few minutes before. "Who are you and why did you save me?"  
  
Stunned, Brooke stared at him in surprise before answering. "I'm Brooke. I just got to Hemmingford a few days ago, and I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are either." Looking into his quiet eyes, she was surprised to see him smile. He looked back at her with a huge smile on his face.  
  
"You don't know who I am?" Nodding her head no, he continued. "I'm Micah Balding, and I was the leader of the Children of the Corn." She gasped. "Yup. I'm Micah. But, see that wasn't me. I mean, I believe all of that stuff, about how He Who Walks Behind the Rows is the one true father, but I wasn't myself when I killed all of those people. He possessed me, and it feels good to be me again. Come on. We gotta go before they find us." He pulled her up, and they began to walk back to the houses.  
  
Halfway there, they realized that everyone would be looking for Micah, especially Lacey, Danny, John, and Angela. Making another fast decision, they went to Ruth's house, also where Mordechai had been staying. Micah assured Brooke that this is the last place anyone would think to look for him. She asked why. "It's a hell of a long story, and I'm not in the mood to tell you about Ruth's seduction attempts. Just let's go." Nodding, she entered the dark house.  
  
The twosome made its way up the stairs, and into the spare room. Upon entrance, Micah collapsed onto the bed. Making her way to a chair, Brooke sat down. "Micah, will you tell me about what happened here? I saved you, and you told me what you did. I kinda need to know what I got myself into. " Sighing he looked at her in the dark. Not wanting to talk very loud, he scooted off the edge of the bed and sat on the floor in front of the chair.  
  
"It all started with Isaac. I was ten, and he wasn't much older then me. We lived in Gatlin." Almost four hours later he finished with "an that was when you pulled me out from under the harvester. " Brooke was on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?" She looked at the floor. "Come on tell me. Please?" She looked back up at him.  
  
"It isn't that you haven't convinced me why you believe in He Who Walks Behind the Rows. It isn't that I hate you for killing all of those people, but you did say that the Age of Favor was 19, right?" Micah nods. "Well. my cousin, Audra, was 19. So that means that she's.." The girl broke into tears and couldn't stop them. Micah leaned closer to her and gave her what he hoped was a comforting hug. She kept crying, but couldn't help feeling a little happy. Here she was, crying on a person's shoulder she had only known for four hours. It helped that he was a nice looking person. (AN- Well if that isn't an understatement, than I don't know what is!)  
  
"If she was sacrificed, it isn't like she was taken for no reason. Her blood served or will serve a purpose. I'm not sure anymore what that purpose is, since He left me when I was about to die. I can tell you this- if you are to turn against us now, with what you know, you too will have to be cut down. I don't want this to happen, because I consider you a friend, but you know too much to leave. You're stuck here for a little while. " Looking at her, Micah could see the fear in her eyes, and he decided to put her worries at rest a little bit. "Nothing will happen to you, Brooke, as long as you're with me. If He had something to say about you, He would have already told me. If He mistrusted you, I would know as well. Take comfort in that, all right? I don't wanna see you cry."  
  
Nodding, she curled up onto the chair. He walked back over to the bed, and lay down. They both fell asleep. Brooke didn't sleep well, so that was probably why she heard the door open about an hour and a half later. Opening one eye, with the help of the early morning light seeping in through the window, she saw a girl standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth. The girl looked at Micah sleeping on the bed as if she was looking at a pile of gold nuggets. Her eyes were as big as dinner plates, and just before she could open her mouth to make a sound, Brooke jumped up.  
  
Surprised, the girl backed farther into the doorway. "Please don't wake him up. He just fell asleep about an hour ago, and he's been through a lot."  
  
"Who are you?" The girl asked in a stage whisper, and Brooke saw Micah's eye crack open. Motioning for the girl to go into the hall, Brooke poked at Micah in a 'Be quiet' type of poke. He obeyed the silent command, and in a minute was left alone in the room. He soon fell back asleep.  
  
"Who in the hell are you to be sleeping in there with *Micah*? Don't you know?" Nodding her head, Brooke assured the girl that she 'didn't know'. "Well, in case you really *don't* know, I'm Ruth, and well, he's Micah." Smothering her giggles by turning them into a hacking cough, Brooke tried to think of something to say to that remark. Besides telling her the truth, she had no idea what to tell this girl. Thinking for a second, she came up with the perfect response, but before she could say it, Ruth had spoken again. "Do you know who saved him? I mean, I tried, and I had his feet and everything, but my hand slipped. I would like to know who did it so that I can thank them for saving him." This was too much for Brooke, and she went off on the girl as quietly as she could.  
  
"Look, Ruth. Micah has been through a lot in the past few hours. He doesn't need you to come into the room at six am, and wake him up by screaming. He needs to sleep. By the way, yes. I DO know who saved him, and I can tell you for a fact that you're lying when you say that you had his foot but slipped." Ruth raised her brows in a way that said 'how would you know?' "How do I know this? Well, Ruth, it just so happens that I'm the one that saved him! You lie so that he'll like you, but let me tell you something. When you lie to someone like Micah, make sure that the lies play out. Make sure that there's no way he can see the truth in them. He deserves better. Now please leave. Come back in about an hour so that we can get up. Micah has expressed a desire to talk to the children in the morning. Do they think he's dead?" Ruth nodded. "Ok, don't tell them otherwise. He wants his return to be a surprise." The blonde girl turned to leave. "Oh, Ruth?" She turned back. "I'm sorry I was rude, but Micah does deserve to be told the truth, don't you agree?" Without an answer, She turned back and began another slow trip down the stairs.  
  
Slipping quietly back into the room, Brooke looked at Micah again. She couldn't get over how young he looked sleeping on the bed with his hair all messy and his face slack. He rolled over so that he was sleeping on his back. Sighing, she realized that she would have no problem looking at that face for hours at a time. Standing up, she walked backwards to the chair, never taking her eyes off of Micah's sleeping form. As she sat down, she sighed again. If what he said were true, even if he liked her, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He Who Walks Behind the Rows had strict rules about dating and relationships. The pair had to be officially joined before anything could happen between them. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep again, not noticing the pair of eyes that watched her from across the room.  
  
As she slept, Micah did his own amount of sighing and thought about many things as well. Brooke had handled Ruth well, and seemed to be a quick study. He didn't know what would become of their friendship, but that wasn't the most important thing to him. He had to focus on the children. Even though he wasn't the leader anymore, he would still be needed and looked up to. Closing his eyes, he thought about the faces of the children the next morning when they saw that he wasn't dead, that he was still alive. The thought he couldn't help, however, was the fact that Brooke's face kept popping up with the children's. He smiled, and fell asleep just as the sun came up over the horizon. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer** Sorry everyone, that this took so long to post. I've had to get all of my ideas together and stuff, but everything is worked out now through chapter 6, so that's good enough for me! As usual, nothing good belongs to me ( (Micah, the Children, Hemmingford) but Brooke is mine. I have a new story in mind. I can hear y'all groaning right now, but it's a Songfic called "In the End" Pretty self explanatory as to what song it is, and I'll have that posted sometime within the next week. I know the song wasn't written at the time of CotC2's release, but it's one of my favorites, so :P. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter, because I actually like it!  
  
Waking up that next morning, at least for Brooke was like waking from a deep sleep. She felt rested, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Micah's small form still sleeping on the bed. Walking quietly to the door, she peered at him, with his sleep tousled hair spread on the pillow, and couldn't help smiling. "I'll be back soon, buddy. I can't let you face that mop head all by your self." Quietly opening the door, she slipped out and was on her way back to the house that she had shared with her cousin just a few short hours ago.  
  
Walking right in, (they had never locked the doors) Brooke was immediately surrounded by memories of her late cousin. Pictures on the mantle, her coat hanging on the hook by the door, it was all too much. Collapsing on the floor, a flood of tears burst forth, and Brooke realized that she was scared to move. She was scared to breathe. All she wanted was out, and if even an eighth of what Micah had said was true, there was no way that that was going to happen.  
  
Collecting herself enough to go up the stairs, Brooke walked into her room, and sat down on the bed. It was only 7:15 am, and she figured that Micah would sleep for maybe another hour, hour and a half. Walking to the closet, she picked out an outfit, walked into the bathroom, and turned the shower on. While she waited for the water to warm up, she went back into her room and picked out a CD to listen to as she got ready.  
  
Stepping back into the steamy bathroom, she placed the disk into her radio, and turned it up so she could hear it over the rushing of the water. Music always helped her feel better, and that's what she needed now. Jason Wade's voice filled the bathroom, and Brooke began her day.  
  
I've found a long way back to sanity again  
  
Though I don't really know what I'm gonna do  
  
When I get there...  
  
Take a breath and hold on tight  
  
And spin around one more time  
  
And gracefully fall back to the arms of grace  
  
Finishing everything she had to do at home, Brooke prepared herself to go back to Ruth's house. Walking past the coat hooks in the front hall, she paused and grabbed Audra's coat. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. Walking, a few of the Children gave her less than welcoming looks, but she paid no attention. She finally reached the house, and opening the back door she and Micah had used the previous night, walked up the stairs and back to the guest room.  
  
She saw that Micah was still sleeping, and noting that it was already 8:30, decided to wake him up. Leaning over the right side of the bed, she poked at him with one hand. He didn't move. Poking harder, she added a light push. Still nothing. "C'mon, Micah, wake your butt up." He groaned, and rolled over. The sudden reaction was more than expected, and Brooke lost her balance, falling on the bed with Micah.  
  
She landed halfway across his stomach, and when she hit, Micah's eyes snapped open. "What the - " He began to laugh. "Plan backfire a little bit, Brooke?" He started to say something else, but was cut off when she began to tickle his stomach. "Come on, stop it. That t-t-tickles." She began to laugh harder. He looked so cute when he smiled. "He Who Walks Behind the Rows commands that you stop it at this instant, you insubordinate-" He cut himself off.  
  
"Oh God, did I just - ?" She blinked in surprise. "Brooke, I, oh no, Brooke, I didn't mean that." She got up off of the bed, and backed slowly away from Micah, kneeling on the bed. "Brooke." She looked scared, and he felt horrible. "Brooke, I just got so used to saying that. It happened all the time before, and I guess its second nature now. I hope you understand." She still looked uncertain about believing him, but he flashed the smile again, and she couldn't stay mad at him. (AN- could you?)  
  
"Micah, that was scary. I, well, I just." She seemed at a loss for words. He nodded. "Anyway, don't you have to talk to the Children?" His eyes widened in surprise. "You probably want to change first, don't you? We can probably get out the back way, but there were a few kids outside on my way here, and if you don't want them to see you then,"  
  
''Go to Ruth. Tell her to call all of them here. When that's done, we can go to the Bed and Breakfast, and I can get some food and my clothes." Nodding, Brooke went to leave. "I'm sorry, Brooke. I didn't mean to scare you." She turned and shook her head toward Micah in an 'it's ok' gesture, and walked out of the room.  
  
A few minutes later, she returned, and the two waited a few minutes. When Ruth came up to talk to them, Micah addressed her for the first time. "Hello, Ruth." She looked astonished that he was speaking to her, but nevertheless, she nodded back in his direction. "Are all of the Children here?" Another nod. "Good. Is it safe for me to go without being seen?" She nodded again. "Good. Come on, Brooke." Ruth, however, didn't like this.  
  
'Why does she have to go with you, Micah? You don't need her to go. I think - " Micah silenced her with a look. She backed away, much like Brooke had done earlier that morning.  
  
"Question me not, Ruth. I am the Giver of His word. Do not talk against Him or his Chosen." Meekly, she nodded. "Do you understand?" Another nod. "Do not tell the children. I will see them when we return. Come, Brooke." Walking past Ruth, Brooke was afraid to talk to Micah. It wasn't until they had gone outside that she attempted to speak.  
  
"Micah, are you ok?" He nodded. They walked in silence to the Bed and Breakfast, and when they entered, Micah collapsed like Brooke had, except he was laughing instead of crying. Unable to control herself, Brooke collapsed next to Micah, and began to laugh as well. The two of them didn't stop for a few minutes, and then finally, when Micah ran out of breath, his laughter subsided.  
  
"Did you see the look on her face? That was priceless! He Who Walks Behind the Rows surely wouldn't appreciate me using his name like that, but it was worth it. Wow. I haven't laughed like that for a long time." Smiling at Brooke, he told her that he was going to go get dressed. She asked him what he wanted to eat, and told him that she'd make it while he changed.  
  
He showed her where the kitchen was, and proceeded up the stairs. Brooke hummed to herself while she cooked, and after about fifteen minutes had passed, breakfast was done. Deciding to go see what Micah was doing, she carried the plates of toast and eggs upstairs, and knocked on what she assumed was his door.  
  
No one answered, so she knocked again. "Micah, are you in there?" Still no answer came, so Brooke pushed the door open. The room was deserted, and she would have left if she hadn't seen the partially closed door to her right. Putting down the plates of food, she walked carefully to the door, and pushed it open.  
  
"Micah, are you - " Gasping, she ran forward and dropped to her knees. 'Micah, come on. Talk to me, please. Come on" The pale boy, even paler now, was sitting on the floor. Propped up against the bathtub, he wasn't moving, only taking shallow, hurried breaths. Looking into her eyes, the boy's breaths become deeper, more regular. Helping him stand up, The two walk over to the bed in the main room.  
  
"Micah, are you ok? What happened?" He doesn't answer, and Brooke turns him so she can look into his eyes. "Micah, I'm here for you. I don't want anything to happen to you. Please tell me maybe I can help." A small whimper comes as Micah seemingly returns to normal. He shoots straight up, and grabs Brooke in a hug.  
  
"I, I , I had a, I had a, oh God." He hugged Brooke tighter, and began to cry. "Brooke, help me. Please help me. I can't, I can't do that again." Pulling back out of the embrace, Brooke searched the boy's dark eyes.  
  
"What Micah. Tell me what happened." A few more tears leak out of Micah's eyes, and he shook his head. "Why not. It'll help you if you talk about it. I promise." Silence filled the room. "Well, maybe you'll feel better if you eat something. Brooke walked over to where she had set the plates down, and brought them back over to the bed.  
  
Setting them down, both teens begin eating silently. Silence dominated the room for almost ten minutes, and then Micah quietly broke the silence.  
  
"He came to me." The words were whispered, and Brooke couldn't understand what he was saying.  
  
"What, Micah?"  
  
"He came to me, Brooke. I had a vision." He looked down at the bed. "He is most pleased that I survived. My body was a fine vessel, He says. It can be used again." Micah's eyes rose to meet Brooke's. "He won't tell me what's going to happen. He says that I'm his, forever, and it doesn't matter what I say or do. I'm not going to have much notice either. If He wants to come back, I'm his." The boy broke down in tears again.  
  
"I have no control in my life at all. It isn't fair." Hugging him tightly, Brooke didn't know what to say. 'He also said - " Micah's voice cut off.  
  
"What else did he say, Micah?" Her voice was tender, caring. She wasn't afraid of him right then, and didn't know why she ever feared him, or any of this.  
  
"That has to wait, Brooke. The Children have to hear it too. But, your name came up." He stopped there, and winced, as if saying this caused him pain. "Yes. This must wait. I need to see the Children."  
  
Both of them finished their food, and Micah finished dressing. With very little conversation, they walked back to Ruth's house, and to the waiting Children. 


End file.
